The White House is engaged in talks with other countries in hopes to find “high-value Russians” that the Kremlin will want to swap for Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, US citizens imprisoned in Russia, CNN reports, citing three sources familiar with the situation.
According to CNN, the US currently has no high-profile Russian spies in custody which would entice Russia to conduct any potential swap. Therefore, Washington is forced to seek help from its allies.
The US offers the countries that have incarcerated Russians to strike a deal as a part of a larger prisoner swap package agreement. The White House has appealed to Brazil, Norway, and Germany as well as post-Soviet states. The potential candidate list includes Russian national Vadim Krasikov who is currently serving a life sentence in Germany for murdering Chechen commander Zelimkhan Khangosvili who fled to реis European country.
Washington is also engaged in negotiations with countries that do not have any Russians in custody to discuss what else Moscow can be offered in exchange for the imprisoned Americans. For instance, the White House is considering lifting unspecified sanctions.
The White House plan envisions bringing back Gershkovich and Whelan as part of the same deal.
Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on 29 March. Media reports suggest that he was surveying Russians about their attitudes towards the Wagner Group and travelled to the city of Nizhny Tagil where a defence-industry factory Uralvagonzavod is located. He was sent to a Moscow detention centre the next day.
Bloomberg previously reported that Vladimir Putin personally gave the FSB the green light to take the reporter in custody. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the report that Putinw as involved in the arrest, noting that “it is the security services’ job”.
Earlier, the US State Department officially designated Gershkovich as “unlawfully detained” in a move that paves the way for a prisoner swap. Moreover, US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have already urged the Kremlin to release the journalist.
Paul Whelan, a holder of British, US, Irish, and Canadian passports, was detained on suspicion of espionage in 2018 in Russia. Later, the investigation team claimed that they had found confidential documents in his possession. Whelan pleads not guilty. In 2020, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
